


Torn in Two

by EnbyStiles



Series: Sweet Dreams In A World Of Nightmares [2]
Category: Fear the Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Horror, Alternate Universe - Magic, Blood, Blood and Injury, Demons, Drama, Fear of Death, M/M, Near Death Experiences, Serious Injuries, idk how to tag this honestly, running for your life, shadow creatures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:28:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24118018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EnbyStiles/pseuds/EnbyStiles
Summary: They tried to take a shortcut through the ruins of an ancient city. It was supposed to be safe in the day. Now there are creatures after them and they're running out of daylight.Always listen when the stories warn you away from someplace ancient and dangerous. They're usually true.~~~~~Fantasy Horror AU with monsters and swords
Relationships: Nick Clark/Troy Otto
Series: Sweet Dreams In A World Of Nightmares [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1811068
Kudos: 15





	Torn in Two

**Author's Note:**

> Aight, so, this is based off a dream I had last night. Nick was in the dream, only he was in the position Troy is in the story and I was in Nicks. So, fun times. Changed things up a bit to make more sense of the story, so I hope you enjoy it. Maybe I'll write more in this universe. Not sure yet. It had an Eberron Mournlands kind of feel to it that I might like to play around with.

Nick isn’t sure what is after them, but he knows two things for certain at the moment. They HATE water, They’ll cross it, but it slows them down greatly, letting out these cries that sound like some twisted mix of a bear's roar and a foxes scream as they move through it. And they move faster in darkness. They stick to the shadows in the daylight. Will leave them briefly, but not long enough to catch up to the two as they ran through crumbling streets and long burned fields.

Daylight is their ally, and unfortunately, they’re running out of it fast. They aren’t running out of water, though. Thank god. Because Troy had the brilliant idea to cut through the swamp and mountain that lie between the abandoned ancient city of Damerral that these things came from, and the far side of the villages that they know is home to the descendants of the ancient city. The only people that know how to keep away whatever these creatures are.

Sure, Nick and Troy had heard stories of the creatures, but that's all they thought of them. Stories. Tales to keep nosey folks out of the ruins. They should have known better than to assume nothing would hurt them in a place like this.

There’s a distant scream from one of the beasts, and Nick finds himself grabbing Troy’s hand in his own as they start to run. There’s a mountain ahead, with a system of natural caves that supposedly lead from one side to the other. Troy is certain they can use them to get to the village faster. Nick isn’t sure he believes him, but he doesn’t see much choice in the matter. At least in there, they can use torches to help keep the creatures at bay.

The sun is starting to set, and more cries sound out from all directions as the demons draw closer. Nick thinks he sees a flash of one out of the corner of his eye as they run past a shadowy area of dead-fall and large, jagged stones. A glimpse of the hulking creature in tattered, decaying robes with massive ram-like-horns and gnarled tan hide like flesh, with sharp, curved claws on hands and feet...

The sight makes him run faster, lungs burning and legs aching from the effort as he pushes himself to move as quickly as his legs will carry him.

They have to stop at the mouth of the caves. Pause a moment to pull the supplies they need from their bags to prepare their torches. They're lit as fast as possible before the two head into the waiting darkness. It’s dangerous and probably stupid. They only have Troy’s old broadsword and Nick’s scimitar and bow to defend themselves with. And neither thinks they’ll have any effect on such creatures.

The passage they follow twists and grows smaller, then larger as they go, and Troy is muttering a prayer under his breath that the creatures can’t follow. Are too big to traverse the passages as they grow narrow in places. That the water that's pooled in various areas makes them turn back.

They enter a cavern, not incredibly large, but big enough that the cave ceiling is a good 15 feet above their heads. The two trade looks of worry at the realization it's a dead-end, before noticing a twist in the rocks to their left that inclines up to a small landing with a thin opening in the rock above. Troy quickly scales the wall and waves for Nick to follow him after waving his torch through to see that it goes into another cave.

Nick watches as his other half throws his torch and bag through the gap before finding his footing against the ledge and hoists himself through.

A cry echoes through the cave, up from the passage they left moments ago. Nick prays the creatures are far back, stuck at one of the knee-deep puddles they had to wade through, or perhaps they've caught their massive horns in one of the bottlenecks that only went maybe a foot above Troy’s own head. The creatures have to be at least 9 feet tall. Their frame a thing but their head and shoulders looked wide. Hopefully, that makes the caves harder for them to move through.

Nick doesn’t want to wait around and find out, and he scrambles up the incline to the landing where Troy climbed through the crevice in the wall. It's about level with his eyes, and it is not a short passage. Long enough that he’ll have to crawl several feet before reaching the other side. Troy waits for him there, holding out a hand to catch Nick’s belongings.

Another tormented shriek resonates throughout the cave, then another. Much louder and closer sounding than before. Nick drops his torch to the cavern floor, close to the cave entrance as he can get it, hoping the light will help keep the creatures at bay. He throws his pack and bow through the opening to Troy before dumping his canteen’s contents on the rock landing at his feet in hopes it will help deter the creatures from following if they do make it into the cavern.

He hears footsteps now. The scraping as the creature's claws dig into the rock walls and floors of the cave.

It takes a second to get his feet planted where he saw Troy had placed his own before, just enough room to stand and push himself up. He’s almost fully into the mouth of the thin passage, hands scrambling for purchase on the smooth rocks inside as he gets most of his upper body inside.

The bits of rock beneath his feet crumble suddenly, and Nick shouts, hitting his head sharply and scraping his hands and chin as he slips back out onto the landing of the slope. He lands hard, momentarily knocking the wind out of him and leaving him gasping for breath as shock and confusion overtake him briefly.

The creatures snarl and roar in the passage below, they’re almost to the cavern, and true terror strikes Nick as he scrambles to his feet and tries to get up the rock face. “Troy! Troy help!” he calls out, a cold sweat making his hands clammy, making it harder to get a grip of the smoother areas of stone. A chill runs up his spine and his skin begins to crawl as he desperately tries to pull himself into the space that he’s certain will be his salvation.

“NICK!” Troy shouts as he scurries back into the tight space and reaches for his love's hand. Nick barely has his head and shoulders into the confined space again as Troy does his best to reach him. The rock digs into his legs, arms, and back undoubtedly drawing blood in his hurry to reach the other man. He grits his teeth and presses on, reaching out for Nick as he gets closer.

There’s a guttural growl from below, and Nick foolishly looks over his shoulder. Two of the massive, putrid creatures are entering the cave. One spotting him right away and locking horrifying ember red, sunken eyes with Nick’s wide brown ones.

He kicks, wriggles, and claws at the rock, trying desperately to reach Troy's outstretched hand. To get away from the creatures that will kill him without hesitation.

They both can hear the scrape of claws on stone. The ear-piercing shriek as one of the creatures touches a rivulet of water making its way down the rock from where Nick had dumped the contents of his canteen.

It strikes Nick that this is it. This is how he dies. Torn apart by demons in a cave with Troy forced to watch. He closes his eyes tight, tears filling them as he thinks of all his regrets. Of Troy having to go on alone after this is over.

A warm hand wraps around his wrist and snaps the world back into sharp focus as Troy yells and pulls Nick as hard as he can. getting him the rest of the way up the rock face and into the mouth of the crevice. 

The two scramble, trying to get through the passage to freedom as quickly as possible. Troy makes it out first, and Nick is close behind. He’s almost free of the confined space when he feels a sharp pain tear through his right calf. One creature made it up the slope and was able to reach a single, twisted claw in after him.

The scream that rips its way out of Nick’s throat is unlike anything he's ever heard himself make. Pain like nothing he’s ever felt before washing over him. And he tries to kick out with his other leg, hoping desperately to force the creature to let him go.

It works, his foot connecting with what might be the face of the creature, its claws leave Nick's leg and in one quick motion, Troy manages to grab hold of Nick by the arms and pull him fully out of the crevice and onto the floor of the cave with him. He lands on top of Troy, both of them breathing heavily and shaking slightly, Troy in abject terror and Nick in excruciating pain.

They hear the creatures let out frustrated screams. Hear the frantic scrape of claws that try to reach through to them to no avail.

Troy is the one to move first, pushing Nick off of him before turning and grabbing one of their bags. He rips a long strip of cloth from one of the bedrolls and quickly moves to wrap it around Nick's leg, which has four jagged slashes through it where the creature tried to pull him back.

It’s bleeding, badly, the muscle clearly torn in places. Troy is able to staunch the bleeding for the most part and Nick lets out another cry of pain as pressure is applied.

“We need to go,” Nick rasps after a few seconds of the two of them just staring at one another, his voice raw from screaming. 

Troy gives him a worried look before nodding and handing Nick his bag and bow. He shoulders both before letting Troy help him to stand. Putting weight on his right leg sends fire shooting up his leg and it causes his vision to go white a moment, making him double over and almost pass out. But he doesn't and he grits his teeth and lets Troy throw his arm over his shoulder to help him walk.

The creatures continue to shriek and roar from the other side of the narrow passage, frustration and anger lacing the tones as claws continue to scrape furiously against unyielding rock.

It’s nearly sunrise when they make their way out of the caves, and the lack of ominous grey haze lets them know they're on the right side of the mountain. Early morning fires of the village they seek let off smoke signals that go high above the treeline for them to follow through the twisting and tangled old forest.

The cries of the creatures are long behind them, but still echo through both of their minds, and it drives them to push on and move faster than either of their exhausted bodies can quite handle. They can’t stop though, stopping is giving up. And they won’t give up on each other.

They collapse from exhaustion at the edge of the village. A woman screams in the distance, and they faintly hear her shouting for the guards and healers to come quickly. They’re both unconscious before the healers arrive. Relief filling them both before it goes dark. They made it to the other side. It nearly tore them in two, but they’re safe at last.

**Author's Note:**

> So, what do you think? Please let me know! I did a rough draft of this on my blog earlier and this was the cleaned-up version.
> 
> You can follow me on [ Twitter](https://twitter.com/TrickyHannigram) for more fandom related fun!
> 
> Or you can also follow me on [ Twitch](https://www.twitch.tv/enbystiles) for weekly writing and gaming streams.


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